It's not the most powerful in the segment or even the fastest. If with this introduction apparently so unflattering, you keep reading this Hyundai i30 N review, it's a sign that you'll agree with me on the following: a sports car isn't just about numbers.
It's not even done. And the Hyundai i30 N is a good example of this philosophy. Unlike other sports cars, the Hyundai i30 N does not reveal its greatest virtues in the technical sheet, it reserves them for those who drive it. And I drove it for over 700 km.
Quickly, slowly, on road and highway. Anyway, under all kinds of conditions. I used up more gas than I should have but I also had a lot of fun… sometimes, maybe even too much. Who never…
What a chassis!
Feeling of control. The Hyundai i30 N gives us an impressive sense of control. I had already had the opportunity to test him on the track — you can recall that moment in this article — and now I had the opportunity to meet him again here, in Portugal, on some of my favorite roads.
Those roads with those “fetish” curves that I know better than the palms of my hands. Even because, truth be told, I don't know the palms of my hands that well...
Everyone—and when I say everyone, it's everyone! — the sports cars that I test here at Reason Automobile are “forced” to pass on certain roads. A kind of punishment, but a good one. Roads where I know every detail of the asphalt, every bump, every tread difference, every hole and every trajectory.
Small "sanctuaries" of applied driving — which I prefer to keep secret so as not to be defiled — where there is only me, the car, and that square meter of asphalt to which I point the inner front wheel with just the first stroke of the steering wheel.
Preferably still with the foot on the brake to complicate life for the rear axle and overload the front axle.
Sometimes it's not the most effective approach, but I'm not trying to beat the timer anyway. I'm trying to establish a dialectic. See how far I can go, see how far he lets me go, and when we get there… well when we get there, we have to see what happens. I write in the plural because I have a car… and the Hyundai i30 N is a car we can trust.
Swipe to see the images:
Welcome aboard. The flight leaves in a few seconds...
The steering feel is very good, the front axle withstands the most severe demands, the drive is exemplary and the rear axle responds with remarkable progressivity. It never scares. Feeling of absolute control. In the video of the rehearsal I made for Razão Automóvel for YouTube (highlighted) I forgot to mention something very important, but that did not go beyond the margins of some of our readers: the weight of the whole.
The Hyundai i30 N is heavy. Pretty heavy.
It's about 1600 kg in running order (1584 kg more specifically), and the use of high-strength steel cannot be a justification for everything. But there's a good reason I didn't remember the weight… he doesn't feel that much. The weight is evenly distributed over the two axles. The only possible justification is one: cost control. On the Hyundai i30 N there are no signs of carbon fiber or other hi-tech materials.
putting things into perspective
Going back to sensations. As I said, I haven't been fighting the timer. But as I said in the video, I know that in the Honda Civic Type-R I passed some of these corners faster than the Hyundai i30 N. Much faster? No, but sooner certainly.
What the Honda Civic Type-R adds in effectiveness, the Hyundai i30 N makes up for in fun. And without wanting to dwell on the comparisons, let me tell you that they are two totally different machines. But it is inevitable to talk about the Honda Civic Type-R because it is the reference in the segment. Point.
Where the Type-R makes you shiver, the i30 N makes you smile.
How am I supposed to put this clearly… I know! Imagine a torrid romance between a Volkswagen Golf GTI and a Honda Civic Type-R. If a relationship like this were to bear fruit — we've already seen stranger things here for Reason Automobile… — the result would be something very similar to the Hyundai i30 N.
The Hyundai i30 N is halfway between them. From the Golf GTI would inherit the description and a more familiar posture. From the Honda Civic Type-R, it would inherit a more “spiked” engine and a sharper chassis.
Maybe it's a terrible analogy (it really is…)
On second thought, perhaps it's not the best analogy that has ever occurred to me — even though in terms of power the Hyundai i30 N is even halfway between them.
The Hyundai i30 N has its own identity. As his real father explained to me during the international presentation:
Albert Biermann, Director of Department NThe Hyundai i30 N is not about RPM (revolutions per minute) it is about BPM (beats per minute).
It's not but it can be. Getting more power out of the Hyundai i30 N should be child's play — I leave the “jokes” to your consideration. A good example is SEAT Leon Cupra — which by this time (more than any other FWD) is one of the hot hatches with the most frequent presence on the Nürburgring — with preparations that easily exceed the 300 hp power that the famous 2.0 TSI offers as standard. . Assiduous presence at the Nürburgring not only due to the engine, but also to the exceptional chassis of the Spanish model.
Returning to the Hyundai i30 N, arriving for the first time in this segment and asserting itself in this way against models with decades of history is remarkable. Do you agree?
I hope you enjoyed the video — assuming this right away. For the story is the exchange of something that is so absurd it makes me want to laugh: stabilizer bar and anti-approach bar. So I'm the geek responsible for writing most of this stuff.
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